New Carnival rules detailed same day as spray-painted claimed land appears on Orleans Avenue

It’s not even February, but that hasn’t stopped the infamous Krewe of Chad from marking their territory along Orleans Avenue in Mid-City.

The Krewe of Chad references the overeager Endymion paradegoers who spray-paint the neutral ground in an effort to “claim” their spot. The term for the group was coined years ago and has held up each year — simply because the group keeps returning earlier and earlier, hoping that a little spray paint will mean something. I think we’ve all learned that it doesn’t matter whether it be a sharpie marker on a map or spray paint on a neutral ground — it won’t mean squat.

In orange spray paint, the Krewe of Chad member marked a sizable portion of the neutral ground on Orleans Avenue and simply put the word “The Mayor” in the orange boxed-off space.

It seems to start earlier and earlier for the Chads each year. For 2020, it came on the day that the New Orleans City Council ushered in new rules for Carnival. They will take effect in the final two weeks of the season.

Among the rules, placing chairs or ladders more than four hours ahead of a parade is prohibited – putting an exact timeline of when it’s too early to “claim a spot.” The Krewe of Chad was 552 hours early – 138 times ahead of when a spot could be “reserved.” No chairs or ladders were used to stake the land — just bright orange spray paint marking the dirt and grass.

I guess the “mayor” of the Krewe of Chad is hoping for diplomatic immunity. Nonetheless, NOLA Twitter was ready to make its own point for the “mayor” of “Krewe of Chad.”

Ok. Let’s do a meetup. BYOB. Bring your own spray paint. My idea is to roughly paint the river down the length of a block then fill in the rest with wall to wall small squares or designs. @PopeyesChicken – wanna sponsor us? Mon 2/3 starting @ 4:30? If interest I’ll set up RSVP. https://t.co/flgGB68MhJ